Apparatus for aging and purifying liquors



July 27, 1937. B. A. PLUME 2,088,337

I APPARATUS FOR AGING' AND PURIFYING LIQUORS i,

Filed oct. s, 1934 w llllllll 1UP www l lsatentecl .ul'y 27,

APPARATUS FOR AGING AND` PURIFYING LIQUORS Benjamin A. Plume, Somerville, Mass.

Application October S, 1934, Serial No. 747,264

8 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for aging and purifying liquors.

The invention has for an object to provide a novelA and improved apparatus for aging and purifying liquors, particularly distilled alcoholic liquors, within the barrels in which such liquors are stored in the bonded warehouses, and with which such liquors may be aged and purified in a rapid, economical and practical manner.

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved apparatus of the character specified, which is adapted to enable liquors to be purified and aged within the barrels in which the liquor is stored in a storage warehouse under conditions which lend themselves to most efficient and accurate control of the process by which the liquors are being aged.

With these general objects in view, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the apparatus for purifying liquors hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawing illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the present apparatus installed in operative position in the barrel in which the liquor is stored in a bonded warehouse; and Fig. 2 is a detail in vertical section taken at right angles to the section of Fig. l and illustrating the relationship between the heating coil and the stirrer member At the present time whiskey is stored in bonded warehouses in barrels under Government super- 5 vision, and in order to remove impurities, the

o inner surface of the barrel. The present apparatus is adapted to hasten the aging of liquor in the barrel in which it is stored in the bonded warehouse, and in practice, the liquor may be purified within a period of a few days to the same extent as has heretofore been possible by storage over several years. The present apparatus is designed for use in purifying the liquor within the original barrels and without adding or detracting from the contents of the barrel, and accordingly comprises, in general, a heated element and a stirring element mounted in and operatively supported by a bung member of a size adapted to t into the usual bung hole in the standard barrel in which the liquor is stored'within the bonded ji warehouse. The apparatus isprovid'ed' With a (Cl. Sil-277.2)

motor for operating the stirring member, and with an expansion chamber into which the fumes and vapors from the liquor may rise during the purifying process. Provision is made for condensing such vapors and returning them to the barrel during the operation of the apparatus. In order to accurately determine the rate of heating and the temperature of the liquor Within the interior of the barrel, the apparatus is provided with a thermometer, and provision is preferably made for circulating the liquor from Within the interior of the barrel around the bulb of the thermometer and returning the same to the barrel, to the end that accurate temperature readings may be obtained. The stirring device is preferably shaped to sweep the interior walls of the barrel and is arranged with respect to the heating member, and both are made of such shape as to enable them to be readily inserted into the barrel through the usual bung hole therein when the apparatus is installed for operation.

' Referring now to the drawing, I9 represents Y the standard barrel, which usually has a charred interior and within which it is the presentpractice to store liquor within the bonded warehouses accordance with the present invention, a unitary Y apparatus is provided comprising a stirrer member l2 and a heating member I4. As herein shown, the stirrer member l2 is of generalhook shape and formed upon the lower end of a vertical operating shaft It journalled in a suitable lower bearing i8 in a block 20, the lower end of which is threaded and constitutes a bung 22 of the exact size and adapted to fit into the standard bung hole of the barrel l0. The block 2i) is bored for the reception of the free ends of the heating pipes lll and for the reception of supply v copper hemispheres bolted together and mounted A5 upon the block 20 to form a unit therewith. The chamber Sil is also arranged to operatively support a supporting member 32 constituting a bearing for the upper end of the shaft AI6 and having a support 3ft upon which an electric motorfSt` is removably secured. The motor 3B is connectedy 'to thershaft l5 through any suitable driving connections herein shown, as a worm 38 and worm Vwheel 0, whereby the rotations of the armature "ofthe motor'may be reduced and transmitted to the shaft I 6. A suitable stufling gland 42 and packing Il are provided for maintaining a vaportight joint at the upper bearing 45 for the shaft IS. The chamber 3Q is provided with a vent pipe A6 mounted in and extended through the block 2U for permitting the vapors from the liquor within the barrel l@ to expand upwardly into the chamber 3E! during the operation of the apparatus. The chamber is further provided with a cooling coil 5i? through which a cooling medium such as cool water may be circulated through supply and exhaust pipes 52, 54, to efficiently condense the vapors in the chamber 3D, and the condensate is returned by gravity through a drip or return pipe L18.

Provision is made for accurately determining the temperature of the liquor within the interior of the barrel during the entire aging process, and to this end, the apparatus is provided with a thermometer or other temperature recording instrument, herein shown, as comprising a thermometer S!) of standard make, having the base SI of its casing formed at right angles to the main body of the thermometer, and threaded and screwed into a threaded hole in a casting 62 through which the stirrer shaft I6 is arranged to extend. The casting 62 is provided with a stuffing gland 6d for maintaining a vapor tight joint, and has secured to it a second casting 66 which forms with the casting 62, a housing for the reception of a gear pump 68 of any usual or preferred construction, and which may be purchased in the open market. The casting 65 is also provided with a stuing gland t1 for maintaining a vapor tight joint between it and the rotary shaft I t. The gear pump 68 is arranged to be actuated by the rotation of the shaft I6, and one member 59 of the gear pump is secured to the shaft IG. Operating passages are provided through the stirrer member I2 and castings 66 and B2, respectively, to form an inlet passage, indicated generally at I, leading from the interior of the barrel through the inlet opening 'l2 in the stirrer member to permit a stream of liquor to be conveyed upwardly through the passage 'II in the stirrer member by the action of the gear pump and to be forced through the portion of the passage '.-'I in the casting 62 into an elongated chamber M in the casting 52, and into which the bulb 'i6 of the thermometer is arranged to eX- tend. From the chamber 14, the liquor is returned to the interior of the barrel through an outlet pipe 'I'I mounted in the block 2D, and in this manner, during the operation of the apparatus, a continuous circulation of liquor is caused to take place from within the barrel, up through ythe stirrer member, around the bulb of the thermometer, and thence back to the barrel, so that the readings of the thermometer indicate accurately the operating temperature of the liquor being aged. In practice, it is preferred to maintain the liquor, during the aging process, at temperatures from F. to 155 F.

In order to effect most eicient and most uniform heating of the liquor throughout the entire body of liquor within the barrel, and at the same time, to enable the heating element I4 to be readily inserted into and withdrawn from the barrel through the usual bung hole therein, it is preferred to shape the heating element I4 in the manner illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, in which the heating element sweeps the sides of the barrel for a portion of its length and terminates in a hook shaped end portion, so that the entire heating element may be readily withdrawn from the barrel through the bung hole. The stirrer member I2 is also shaped to conform closely to the curvature of the main body of the heating element, so that both the stirrer member and heating element may be readily withdrawn from the barrel and also introduced therein. The shapes of the stirrer member and of the heating element are such that the heating element does not interfere with the rotary movement of the stirrer member. Insulating gaskets 88, 8l are preferably provided to reduce to a minimum the transmission of heat from the circulating stream of liquor, by which the temperature readings are taken, to the end that the thermometer may indicate most accurately the true temperature of liquor within the barrel.

In some instances, I may prefer to assist the normal agitation produced by the rotation of the stirrer member l2 in a general longitudinal direction, by the provision of a deecting blade 8f3 on the end of the stirrer in order to reduce vertical agitation in the body of liquor within the barrel.

From the description thus far, it will be observed that the present apparatus comprises a unitary structure from which the motor it may be readily removed providing a remaining unit which may be constructed of relatively light weight, to be capable of being transported from barrel to barrel within the storage warehouse and of being handled in such manner as to enable the heating and stirring elements to be conveniently introduced into and withdrawn from the barrel. In the operation of the apparatus, the aging is effected by continual agitation of the liquor in a heated condition, and it will be observed that during operation, the liquor remains sealed from the atmosphere, preventing contamination and the introduction of extraneous material into the liquor. This feature of the invention is of importance in order to comply v with government regulations. rIhe provision of the condensing coils and return drain from the expansion chamber 3S insures the return to the barrel of all liquor vapor which may pass upwardly through the vent pipe into the chamber 39. The provision of the thermometer and the circulating system for effecting continual circulation of the liquor from the interior of the barrel around the bulb of the thermometer, enables the operating temperature of the liquor to be acf curately determined and carefully controlled within the required limits, thus contributing to the success of the aging operation. By mounting the thermometer upon the casing forming the chamber 3G, the occasion for perforation of the barrel is eliminated. Y While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described,

it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for aging distilled alcoholic liquor in a storage barrel of the usual type provided with a conventional bung hole, said apparatus having, in combination, a curved heating element the same, a closed chamber mounted upon the supporting member to form a unit therewith, a Vent pipe leading from the interior of the barrel through the supporting member for conducting the vapors into said chamber, a condensing coil within the chamber, and a return drain from the chamber to within the barrel.

2. Apparatus for aging distilled alcoholic liquor in a storage barrel of the usual type provided with a conventional bung hole, said apparatus having, in combination, a curved heating element and a stirring element rotatable with respect to said heating element and capable of being simultaneously inserted into and withdrawn from said barrel with said heating element through said bung hole, supporting means for the stirrer element and heating element, said means being adapted to be secured in the bung hole to seal the same, aclosed chamber mounted upon and forming a unit with said supporting member,l said supporting means having a vent from the barrel into the chamber, a return drain from the chamber back to the barrel, a motor mounted upon the chamber, and driving connections between the motor and the stirrer member.

3. Apparatus for aging distilled alcoholic liquor in a storage barrel of the usual type provided with a conventional bung hole, said apparatus having, in combination, a curved heating element and a stirring element rotatable with respect to said heating element and capable of being simultaneously inserted into and withdrawn from said barrel with said heating element through said bung hole, supporting means for the stirrer element and heating element, said means being adapted to be secured in the bung hole to seal the same, said stirrer element being provided with an operating shaft journalled in said supporting means extending upwardly therefrom, a temperature indicating device mounted upon the supporting means, a pump operatively connected with said stirrer shaft, and a conduit system cooperating with the pump for effecting circulation of liquor within the barrel around the ternperature indicating deviceand for returning the same to the barrel.

4. Apparatus for aging distilled alcoholic liquor in a storage barrel of the usual type provided with a conventional bung hole, said apparatus having, in combination, a curved heating element and aA stirring element rotatable with respect to said heating element and capable of being simultaneously inserted into and withdrawn from said barrel with said heating element through said bung hole, supporting means for the stirrer element and heating element, said means being adapted to be secured in the bung hole to seal the same, said stirrer element having an operating shaft journaled in the supporting member, a motor for rotating the shaft, a pump operatively connected with the shaft, said stirrer member having a passage for effecting circulation of the liquor from within the barrel therethrough, and a temperature indicating device arranged to record the temperature of the liquor thus circulated.

5. Apparatus for aging distilled alcoholic liquor in a storage barrel of the usual type provided with a conventional bung hole having, in combination, a heating element, a hook-shaped stirrer element, both shaped to be capable of introduction into and withdrawal from the barrel through the usual 'bung hole therein, supporting means for the stirrer and heating elements, said means being adapted to be secured in the bung hole of the barrel, means for rotating the stirrer element with respect to said heating element,said stirrer element being provided with a deflecting portion whereby agitation is imparted to the liquor within the barrel both lengthwise of the barrel and transversely thereof.

6. Apparatus for aging distilled alcoholic liquor in a storage barrel of the usual type provided` with'a conventional bung hole having, in combination, a hook-shaped heating element, a hook-shaped stirrer element, a supporting member for both the stirrer and heating elements arranged to provide for disposing the stirrer element in substantially parallel relationship with the heating element for a portion of the length thereof, saidY heating yelement being shaped toY be disposed in substantially close proximity to the sides of the barrel, means for elfecting rotation of the stirrer element with respect to said heating element, said supporting member operating to seal the liquor within the barrel from having, in combination, a curved heating element and a stirring element rotatable with respect' to said heating element and capable of being simultaneously inserted into and withdrawn from said barrel with said heating element through said bung hole, supporting means for said elea ments and for sealing said bung hole to prevent communication between the interior of said barrel and the atmosphere, and means for rotating said stirring means, said stirring element corresponding in shape to a portion of said heating Y element and lying adjacent thereto in at least one position of the stirring element.

8. In an apparatus for aging distilled alcoholic liquor in a storage barrel of the usual type provided With a conventional bung hole, the combination of a curved heating element capable of being inserted into and withdrawn fromV said barrel through said bung hole, a stirring element rotatable with respect to said'heating element and substantially corresponding in shapeto at least a portion of said heating element and lying adjacent said heating element in one position of the stirring element to provide for inserting and withdrawing said stirring element through said bung hole along with said heating element, means to support said heating and stirring elements and for sealing said bung hole during the aging process, and means for rotating said stirring means.

BENJAMIN A. PLUME. 

